The Carte Vitale is the

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card *** Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card **** Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insur ...

of the national health care system in France. It was introduced in 1998 to allow a direct settlement with the medical arm of the

social insurance Social insurance is a form of Social protection, social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of Welfare, soci ...

system. The declaration of a primary health insurance company (''Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie'') substitutes the card usage. Since 2008, a second generation of

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

s is being introduced—the "Carte Vitale 2" carries a picture for identification and the smart card has additional functions of an electronic health insurance card to carry electronic documents of the treatment process. The first generation had been a family card carrying the names of all family members, thereby simply declaring they are covered by the French social security health care, while non-residents would need to use the

European Health Insurance Card The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is issued free of charge and allows anyone who is insured by or covered by a statutory social security scheme of the EEA countries, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to receive medical treatment in ...

to prove their health insurance status. To be eligible for a Carte Vitale, you must be a citizen of France for 3 or more years. a Carte Vitale can be ordered from the official social security website of France, and will come in the mail within a 1-2 month period.

References

External links

* Health insurance cards Health insurance in France {{health-stub

See also

References

External links